Joe Curtis

Joe Curtis, financial center manager and assistant vice president at Fifth-Third Bank, began his education at St. Charles Community College.

Today, Curtis is responsible for growing Fifth-Third bank in O'Fallon.

While at SCC, he was an active member of the student body. He received a scholarship to play baseball and said the sport kept him on track, and drove him to do better.

"We won the Region 16 Championship, and several of the guys transferred with me to University of Missouri-St. Louis," Curtis said. He received a Bachelor of Science in Communications from the University of Missouri-St. Louis In 2002.

After working a short time in journalism, he started at Fifth-Third Bank as personal banker and was promoted three years ago to his current position. He was recognized in 2011 and 2012 for being in the top five percent of his job title for customer service and performance.

"I think the community college was a good place to start. It was local and not too far from home,” he said. “It prepared me to move on to a four year university and gave me the tools I needed."